Ep 262 - Maintaining Muscle When Dieting, Peak Week & Body Recomposition w/ Chris Barakat

On today’s episode of RNT Fitness Radio, I’m pleased to be joined by Chris Barakat, Pro Natural Bodybuilder, Exercise Scientist, owner of Team Competitive Breed & Educator @ School of Gainz & University of Tampa. In this episode we dive into how to maintain muscle mass during dieting, the misconceptions around body recomposition, and if it’s possible, and the art of peaking your body to look its best when you want it to. If you’re into the extra 1%, and want to maximise your body composition gains for life, you’re going to love this chat with Chris!   Timestamps:    00:14 - Why do you love bodybuilding?  01:47 - What are your initial driving factors?  05:26 - Body Dysmorphia - at what point did you get rid of that mentality?  10:37 - What was one of your biggest lessons from the 2021 season?  14:00 - How do you know if you’re just not motivated and genuinely unrecovered?  15:50 - What behaviours drive you to  improve once you are locked in that state?  17:23 - What are the key things to look at when it comes to muscle tension?  27:30 - Scientifically, what do you think was going on in those two pictures?  28:16 - How did you get over the mental games that your body weight is staying the same and that you’ve got 3-5 pounds to lose?  30:00 - What do you think of fasted cardio or fasted training?  39:04 - How are you going to spend your off season now?  42:50 - For commercial gym members, what does crossing their T’s a little bit better means?  45:13 - Peak week recommendations 49:15 - Case study with Scott Stevenson  53:05 - Do you think you can roll out the same case study with your clients?    Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to “RNT Fitness Radio” and rate and review wherever you get your podcasts:      Apple Podcasts   Stitcher iHeart Radio Spotify    For any podcast suggestions, or if you’d like to get in touch, please do so on podcast@rntfitness.com here. We’d love to hear from you!      If you’re in the UK, and you use supplements, I’d highly recommend checking out Reflex Nutrition, where they’re giving you up to 40% on all their range if you use the code PTRNT at checkout. I’ve been using Reflex for nearly a decade, with their Micro Whey being one of my favourite whey proteins. It’s grass fed, hormone free, and digests so well compared to most on the market. Check out their full supplement range, including all your transformation basics and plant based alternatives, on https://reflexnutrition.com/ and use PTRNT at checkout for up to 40% off.      Resources:   Take the Transformation Quiz Our Book: Transform Your Body, Transform Your Life   Follow Chris Barakat:   Educator: School of Gainz Adjunct Professor & Researcher: The University of Tampa  Instagram LinkedIn Research Gate   Follow RNT Fitness:    Website Facebook Instagram YouTube Email   Follow Akash:   Facebook Instagram LinkedIn